Extra Credit #1 Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter five in the book Why We Make MIstakes is mainly about how humans are horrible multitaskgers. The example that he used to start of the chapter is an intense one. I never really realized that that could actually happen. However, it shouldn't surprise me because I am very easily succeptable to tunnel vision. The accident actually had a phrase coined after it: "Controlled Flight into Terrain". In most cases, the flight crew had lost awarenedd of the situation inside the cockpit. This is similar to multitasking. Sadly, our brains cannot function like our computers which are so good at multitasking these days. However, when you actually get down to it, even a computer cannot multitask unless it has multiply processors. "It switched back and forth between tasks several thousand times per second, thus giving the illusion that everything is happening simultaneously." Multitasking actually slows us down and causes us to forget what we were doing. This reminds me of a study that I read about where a select group of people in the work place were not allowed to check their emails for a week. I believe this study focused more on social interaction in the work place, but the results highlight how much more effecient the workers are when they are not distracted by there email. What is probably the most scary about multitasking is the condition called "inattentioal blindness". This is where you can be looking direcltly at somehting and still not see it. This is why it is so crucial not to talk on the phone when you are driving. Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. I was surprised to learn that " a single two second glance doubles the risk of an accident". This provides a great area of research of how to minimize the risk when driving but still being able to use devices like a GPS and a phone. A really cool device mentioned in this chapter is the Intelligent Driver Information System. This will block telephone calls when drivers are changing lanes or turning. This chapter was well written and kept my interest with the various examples that it contianed. It was also good to read this article to remind me the dangers while driving - especially since many people will be driving home this week.